Calling a Truce over the Missouri-Kansas Border War
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This session I supported legislation that tackles the "Border War" between Missouri and Kansas, addressing how businesses relocate from one state to another to benefit from certain tax incentives. Senate Bill 635, signed by the governor in early July, prohibits the issuance of incentives under the BUILD program, the new or expended business facilities program, the Urban Enterprise Loan program, or the Missouri Works program for businesses that relocate from certain counties in Kansas (Douglas, Johnson, Miami, or Wyandotte) to certain counties in Missouri (Cass, Clay, Jackson or Platte).
However, this measure is contingent upon the Kansas Legislature passing similar legislation or its governor issuing an executive order with a similar prohibition on these types of incentives for businesses.
A letter submitted recently by industry leaders in the Kansas City area noted the negative effects of this Border War, including higher taxpayer costs that fail to benefit the communities, unfair competition for non-relocating employers, wasting incentives on existing jobs instead of attracting new positions to the area, and damaging regional cooperation.
To read more about how this Border War affects our communities, read the Kansas City Star article here.
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